Environment leaders OK efforts to slow warming

Environment ministers from seven leading industrialized nations agreed Friday to accelerate efforts to slow climate change, including a commitment to end government support for new coal-fired power plants by the end of this year.

The pledges were part of a wideranging communique issued by Group of Seven environment ministers after a two-day virtual meeting hosted by the U.K., which holds the G-7’s rotating presidency.

At the heart of the document is a commitment to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, compared to the previous goal of 2 degrees.